I've Got This Friend
by Sibele
Summary: Bolin – er, Bolin's "friend" – receives some brotherly advice about a certain lady. Bolin/Korra. Spoilers for episode 4.


"So, Mako… I've got this friend."

Mako only raised an eyebrow, not even shifting his attention from his repair job. The sole had started to fall off of his right shoe, which he had only realized after stepping into a puddle that filled his boot up with water. Right now, fixing his shoe and preventing mold from infiltrating the soft lining was a lot more important than Bolin's "friend."

The firebender had been a brother long enough to know that whenever Bolin started a sentence with "so one of my friends" or "I've got this friend," the earthbender usually was trying to sneakily talk about himself and get some advice without coming right out and admitting it.

Mako didn't really understand _why _Bolin couldn't just come to him for advice without using "a friend" as a mask. He might judge Bolin for some of his choices with ladies, but he wouldn't ever turn away and refuse to give his little brother advice. Especially not when it appeared his woman-centric advice seemed to be credible; Mako had recently landed himself a girlfriend. Not _any _girlfriend, but the beautiful, kind, and incredibly talented Asami Sato.

"Right," he said, squinting as he wiped a sealant around the edge of the separation of his boot and sole. "What's your friend's name?"

"Uhm," Bolin put a hand to his thick hair. "Lee."

Mako had to concentrate to prevent a smile from appearing on his face as he continued his repair. "Lee. Is he the kid with the shaggy hair?" Of course there was no kid with the shaggy hair.

"Yes, it's black," Bolin readily agreed to the lie, looking cheerful as he took a seat next to Mako on the floor. "Glad you remember him."

"I remember all your friends, Bo."

"Good! That's… good. Well, anyway. Lee needed some advice and I gave him some, but he wanted a second opinion. I told him I'd ask you."

"That was nice of you."

"Yeah, I – I know," Bolin faltered for a moment, awkwardly coughing into his fist. Mako took a good look at him for the first time. He looked oddly nervous. Normally when Bolin asked for advice, he looked shy only for a moment before diving right into the problem headfirst. Something was different this time.

Mako set his broken shoe aside, giving Bolin his full attention. "What's going on, Bo? What does Lee need help with? Is it something serious?"

"Nah, it's just… there's this person."

"Uh huh."

"A girl, I mean."

"Uh huh. What's this girl like?"

Bolin paused, crossing his legs as he sat on the floor next to Mako. His index fingers slowly traced small circles on the tops of his knees. "She's… different. I mean, Wang has definitely been out with ladies but-"

Bolin stopped as he saw the odd expression on his brother's face. Before he could ask for an explanation, Mako held up a hand to silence his brother. "Wait, who's Wang? I thought your friend was named Lee."

Flushing deeply, Bolin began to awkwardly stammer for a moment before he cleared his throat. "It is! His name is Wang Lee. We call him Lee for short. Sorry. Should have clarified."

"… right. Well, this girl. She must be special if your buddy likes her, especially if he's 'been out with the ladies' like you said he has." Mako couldn't help but believe that this was a bit of an understatement. Bolin had been out with the ladies, all right. And in with the ladies and around with the ladies and everywhere in between with the ladies. He always had girls flocking to him.

"Yeah, but that's the problem. She's… she's _too _special. Lee's… afraid, I guess. No, not afraid. Not the word. He's… worried."

"About what?" Mako was sure his surprise was showing on his face. Bolin was worried? About a _girl_? Who was this girl? "Why is he worried if he's so used to being around women? He must be a nice guy, right? Otherwise no girl would go out with him."

"Yeah, he is a nice guy, but sometimes being nice isn't enough. To tell you the truth, Lee doesn't really feel like enough when he's around this girl," Bolin said slowly, avoiding eye contact as he continued to trace imaginary patterns. He seemed to become lost in his thoughts as he began to describe the girl, the words flooding out of his mouth very quickly. "She's strong and pretty and talented and everybody knows who she is and that's the problem… everybody in the world knows her and sometimes Lee feels like he doesn't really stand out in the crowd and he can't get her attention especially when she's focused on so many important things like fighting and learning airbending-"

Mako's mouth dropped in surprise. "Wait! Lee likes _the Avatar?_"

"Yeah. I mean, kind of crazy, right?" An awkward laugh slipped from Bolin's mouth. He looked slightly discouraged as he hastily became focused on pulling a stray thread from his shirt. "Like the Avatar has time for dating…"

Mako smiled. "You want to know what I think, Bo?"

"What?"

"I think Lee has competition."

"Competition…?" Bolin blinked. "What do you mean? For… the Avatar?"

"Yeah, definitely. I don't think you'll give her up without a fight."

"_Me? _Wait, you think that _I _like the _Avatar? _That is so crazy, Mako, why on earth would you think – okay, yeah, you caught me. I like Korra."

Mako laughed, going back to concentrating on his boot. "Bolin, it's not exactly a secret. You brought her a flower and a cake."

"Yeah, but everybody brings her gifts! That Tarrlok guy bought her a fleet of expensive gifts," Bolin seemed to become a bit grumpier as he mentioned Tarrlok, even though the Republic Council member was in his thirties. "How am I supposed to stand out when there's a whole city full of-"

"Of what? Of guys that spend all day with Korra, that listen to her problems, that train with her, that are on a pro-bending team with her, that she risked her life to save from Amon? No. There's only you, Bolin. Calm down, gain some confidence and… I don't know. Go talk to her," Mako said with a shrug, standing from his spot on the floor. He extended a hand to his brother, pulling the earthbender up without difficulty. "See where it goes. Oh. Sorry. Tell _Lee _to see where it goes."

"I didn't fool you for a second, did I?"

Another smile. "Nope. You never do. But that's alright. Whether Wang or Lee or Wang Lee or Kuzon need advice, I'll always give it to them."

"… but_ I'm_ those people."

Mako sighed. "I _know_, Bolin," he pointed toward the island where Korra lived, resting the urge to press his palm against his face in exasperation. "Just… get out of here. Go talk to Korra."


End file.
